Published on January 14, 2020
We had house guests over the holidays. As I was preparing the recently-renovated upstairs bathroom (also my girls’ bathroom) for them, I realized that the counter top situation needed some attention. I polled my girls on what they felt they needed to keep on the counter top, and then asked our house guests the same question.
Staged for the reveal but not practical for everyday use.
Feedback From My Girls, Guests, and IG Friends
Here are the answers I received from my girls, my guests, and my Instagram friends about what should be kept out on a double vanity counter top (or any bathroom counter really):
Girls
- A towel they are allowed to use to wash their faces or wipe their dirty hands on (I don’t allow them to use the pretty hand towels for these things…those are only for drying wet hands).
- Qtips
- A dish for retainers (only when guests are not staying with us)
- Flowers (requested by my Noelle)
Guests
- Soap pump at each sink
- Extra hand towels that the girls don’t use (Believe me, I get this one)
- Extra wash cloths
- Qtips (this is my input as a guest…I ALWAYS need Qtips)
- A box of Kleenex
Instagram Friends
- Cotton balls
- Extra wash cloths
- Qtips
- A box of Kleenex
- Flowers
- Extra toiletries (travel-sized ones like in hotels)
- Lotion
- Candle
Double Vanity Counter Top Ideas on Pinterest
After compiling all that information, I set out to find examples of how to decorate a double vanity counter top on Pinterest. However, most images I found were staged and really only provided examples of where things should go, rather than what items should be on a bathroom counter. Here are the different ideas I pinned:
1. || This idea isn’t super practical, but it’s beautiful. I feel like all those smaller things should be corralled onto a tray next to the potted olive tree.
Image via Wayfair
2. || I love the composition of everything on this double vanity counter top, though I wouldn’t select sponges and bars of soap for those beautiful apothecary jars (just not practical). It covers all the bases except Kleenex, which could easily replace one of the extra silver objects in the middle.
Image via Pottery Barn
3 ||This one is far too minimal for everyday use or guest bathroom purposes. I thought the idea of placing a vase of fresh greens or flowers behind a tray full of practical items was genius though!
Image via Pinterest | Source unknown
4 || This look is nice and clean, but covers most of the bases. I think the only thing that’s missing is some greenery. Having that center towel ring is really practical and pretty as well.
Image via Pottery Barn
5 || If you don’t need to keep daily things out, this beautiful setup by Studio McGee might work for you. It also gives you an idea of how to arrange similarly-sized objects.
Design by: Studio McGee
6 || I included this image because it’s another good example of how to arrange things on a double vanity counter top. I love having something fresh (greens or flowers), but then leaving room for the practical stuff and placing the soap pumps off to the sides.
Design by: Studio McGee
What I Placed on Our Double Vanity Counter Top
After all my searching and inquiring, I finally decided on the items I felt were necessary as well as nice to have out on the double vanity in my girls’/guest bathroom. It’s a conglomeration of all the above ideas without being overwhelming or impractical.
It’s nice and tidy, but that woven tray holds everything my girls and guests need. Anything else I thought would be nice to have on hand is on the shelves above the toilet.
A Closer Look at the Items I Chose
- Kleenex in a beautiful marble cover
- candle
- extra wash cloths (white so they can be bleached)
- Qtips
- fresh greenery
- soap pumps at each sink
- woven tray from Target to corral everything (not offered online – here are my favorite woven trays)
I chose not to put lotion out on the counter because we don’t have enough guests stay with us to warrant having that out all the time. Also, nobody in my family really uses cotton balls unless we are taking off fingernail polish. Here’s an overhead shot so you can get a better look at how I arranged the tray.
I’m so happy with how this turned out because I finally feel like I can stop thinking about what to put between these two sinks!
I hope these ideas for how to decorate a double vanity counter top truly are helpful. I try to see gaps in what’s out there (especially via Pinterest search) and fill them with practical information you can apply in your own home. Personally, this process has been so helpful because now I know the upstairs bathroom is serving my girls’ everyday needs but is also prepared for any house guests we might have.
I’d love to hear what you think of these ideas in the comments below!
*Don’t forget to follow me on Pinterest for even more inspiring images and ideas!
Definitely saving these ideas for an upcoming bathroom remodel! Especially love the marble tissue box cover, that’s a great find!
Awesome! I love the marble tissue cover…it’s so beautiful and high quality. Thanks for stopping by!
This was extremely helpful since I was just contemplating this issue myself! I have a kids bathroom that doubles as the guest room with a double sink. Currently we are using it too while we renovate our master. I was testing out different trays/baskets but now I will check out your roundup! Thank you!
Oh awesome! Isn’t it funny how this is such an issue for people? Visual clutter makes me crazy, so I guess it makes sense that in this instagram-crazy culture, we are becoming more mindful of how things look, even if they are the practical, everyday items we need to leave out. I hope you find a tray you love in my roundup! My personal fave is the dark oval one from McGee and Co…I’m planning to purchase it for my ottoman.
Yes! It IS these kinds of debates I have with myself too, and there are not clear answers in designers’ staged images. So awesome job filling that gap! Thank you! My conclusion was similar but with a sculptural ring holder (that doesn’t look like one) for hubs & I and an acrylic box with unusual shells we’ve found on various beaches during special trips. Love the marble tissue box! Those are hard to make look nice but that one is perfect! I didn’t see any info on the greens- is that clippings or something planted? I’m determined to have real plants in our new home but I’m mostly clueless…
I definitely think what you place between two sinks depends on where your double vanity is located…like who is using it. I would add different things for our master bathroom too. The greens are from my back yard, but Trader Joe’s sells really nice ones too. Real plants are so awesome for air quality…it just takes determination and treating them mostly like cats (leave them alone until you see they need something…lol).
This was so helpful and timely! Thank you for breaking down each photo and the overhead shot at the end. Love it all!
I’m so happy you found it helpful! It seems like a random type of post, but it’s amazing how getting a little bit of clarity and seeing an example can help us make a decision. Thanks for stopping by the blog and reading!